Spend about 77,000 VND to close 3 apartments

Buy a house cheap as if for free

Rubia Daniels from California (USA) was very surprised when she first heard about cheap houses in Italy. She went to Europe to check it out and "closed the deal" on 3 houses in a small town in Sicily in mid-2019. Notably, Daniels only spent about 3.3 USD (equivalent to 77,000 VND) to become the owner of these houses.

Rubia Daniels stands in front of a house she bought. Photo: BIT

According to this woman, the towns in Italy reminded her of her childhood home in the suburbs of Brasilia in Brazil - Daniels's hometown. What surprised her was how warmly the residents welcomed her. Not only did Daniels love the town's rich history, but she was also excited about the idea of ​​renovating abandoned houses.

“ This helps the environment. We need to stop building and start repairing what we already have ,” said Rubia Daniels.

⅔ of the house was renovated by Daniels on the outside. Photo: BI

Daniels also has different plans for his three homes: one will be converted into an art gallery, one will be a residence, and the third will be used as a community health facility. The renovations began in 2019 but were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Daniels is currently traveling between the US and Italy to complete the renovations.

Italy "craves" people to buy cheap houses

Daniels is not alone in buying cheap homes in an effort to revitalize Italy’s empty towns. Urbanization has led to rural depopulation while cities have become overcrowded.

In 2021, nine villages in the south of the country offered to pay Millennials $33,000 to move in on the condition that they help repopulate the towns. Except for Calabria, the villages in southern Italy all offered people under 40 a sum to 'migrate'. What they all have in common is that they have fewer than 2,000 residents and if no action is taken, they could become 'ghost towns'.

Current status of some $1 houses. Photo: BI

Calabria previously made headlines when it sold 12 homes for $1.14 in the village of Cinquefrondi in a race to repopulate. In 2019, the town of Cammarata offered free homes to anyone who wanted to live there, part of an effort to prevent the area from “falling into ruins,” according to Vincenzo Giambrone, the mayor of the town.

You don’t have to go far to buy a $1 house, as the town of Maenza near Rome has put up around 100 homes for sale for “as cheap as a gift.” According to CNN, these houses were built in the 1700s and have been abandoned for years. The mayor of the town stressed that Maenza is “not a dying place,” but they need people to live there to restore the face and breathe life into the town.

However, living in a $1 house is not easy. According to Tom Murray, a writer for Business Insider , most of these houses are in a dilapidated state, possibly in need of a large sum of money to restore. So, even if you only spend $1 to buy a house, you may have to spend thousands of dollars more on renovations if you want to move here.

Tom Murray has toured many $1 homes and found that unfurnished ones are easier to renovate than furnished ones that “look like something out of a horror movie.”

The $1 houses after being renovated. Photo: BI

If you are lucky, you can still own a “bargain” of a house that is solid and not too damaged. The towns Murray visited were also interesting, friendly people, rich cuisine and pleasant weather. Residents in the town of Sambuca (Italy) have started learning English to develop tourism so you can completely communicate with them.

Business Insider reporter is optimistic about the future of small towns in Italy, "maybe the day these towns are flooded with Americans, British, Russians... will not be far away". However, Murray also advises those who want to buy a house to grasp information about the real estate situation and have a reasonable renovation plan.

(Source: CAFEF)

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Source: https://vtc.vn/noi-mua-nha-re-nhu-cho-chi-khoang-77-000-dong-chot-don-duoc-3-can-ar783019.html